Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) is the wing of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

serving in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. It is responsible for organizing and coordinating the party's activities and campaigns within the state, as well as selecting candidates for local, state, and national elections. The present president is K. Selvaperunthagai. Social policy of the TNCC is officially based upon the Gandhian principle of

Sarvodaya Sarvōdaya ( ''wikt:सर्व, sarv-'' "all", ''wikt:उदय, uday'' "rising") is a Sanskrit term which generally means "universal uplift" or "progress of all". The term was used by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi as the title of ...

(upliftment of all sections of the society). In particular TNCC emphasises upon policies to improve the lives of the economically underprivileged and socially unprivileged sections of society. The party primarily endorses

social liberalism Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

(seeks to balance individual

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

Ideology and policy positions

Since the 1950s, the TNCC has favored liberal positions (the term "liberal" in this sense describes modern liberalism, not

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...

) with support for

and a

mixed economy A mixed economy is an economic system that includes both elements associated with capitalism, such as private businesses, and with socialism, such as nationalized government services. More specifically, a mixed economy may be variously de ...

. TNCC strongly supports Liberal nationalism, a kind of

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

compatible with values of

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

, tolerance,

equality Equality generally refers to the fact of being equal, of having the same value. In specific contexts, equality may refer to: Society * Egalitarianism, a trend of thought that favors equality for all people ** Political egalitarianism, in which ...

, and

individual rights Individual rights, also known as natural rights, are rights held by individuals by virtue of being human. Some theists believe individual rights are bestowed by God. An individual right is a moral claim to freedom of action. Group rights, also k ...

. Historically, the party has favoured farmers, labourers, and the working class; it has opposed unregulated business and finance. In recent decades, the party has adopted a

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

economic and socially progressive agenda and has begun to advocate for more

affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

, a

balanced budget A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) is a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it is a budget that has no budge ...

, and a

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...

. The economic policy adopted by the modern TNCC is

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

policies, though at the same time it is in favour of taking a cautious approach when it comes to liberalising the economy claiming it is to help ensure that the weaker sectors are not affected too hard by the changes that come with liberalisation. In the 1990s, however, it endorsed market reforms, including privatisation and the deregulation of the economy. It also has supported secular policies that encourage equal rights for all citizens, including those from the lower stratas. The party supports the somewhat controversial concept of family planning with birth control.

Economic policy

The Congress strongly endorses a mixed Capital economy in which both the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

and the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

direct the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, reflecting characteristics of both market economies and

planned economies A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...

. A leading economic theory advocated by the modern Tamil Nadu Congress party is import substitution industrialisation that advocates replacing foreign imports with domestic production. Party also believes that mixed economies often provide

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

, maintenance of employment standards, a standardized welfare system, and maintenance of competition. The

party liberalised the Indian economy, allowing it to speed up development dramatically.

Healthcare and education

Tamil Nadu Congress Pioneered the first

Midday Meal Scheme The Mid Day Meal Scheme, officially PM-POSHAN, is a mandatory free school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide. The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in g ...

in India in the Year 1953. This led to a huge wave of enrollment by students from the predominant rural and semi urban pockets of Tamil Nadu, which helped increase the Literacy rate of the state from 16% in 1947 to 82% in 2011. Today, it has become the largest schoolchild feeding programme in the world, covering 110 million students in 1.2 million schools. This rural health initiative was praised by the American economist

Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs ( ; born November 5, 1954) is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute. He worked on the topics of sustainable develop ...

and former American President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. During the TNCC tenure, an IIT and was opened in the state.

Security and State Affairs

The Tamil Nadu Congress party has been instrumental in debating and helping strengthen anti-terror and vigilant laws leading to amendments to the Security Laws of the Tamil Nadu Government Departments. Also,

Unique Identification Authority of India Aadhaar (Hindi: आधार, ) is a twelve-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by all residents of India, based on their biometrics and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority o ...

was established in February 2009, with the help of the Central Government, an agency responsible for implementing the envisioned Multipurpose National Identity Card with the objective of increasing national security and facilitating e-governance.

Structure & Composition

List of Presidents

List of chief ministers of Tamil Nadu from the Congress Party

Madras Presidency

Madras State

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections

•

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

was completely reorganized into the present state of

in the year 1956. But the name was changed to Tamil Nadu only in the year 1969

Lok Sabha elections (M.P in Tamilnadu)

References

External links

INC Tamil Nadu website
{{India topics Indian National Congress of Tamil Nadu Political parties in Tamil Nadu Indian National Congress by state or union territory